question about bears & berries

[wdcutrsdaughter]

Good day everyone!
We are blessed to be purchasing a home that has grape vines, raspberries and blueberries, and I plan on planting strawberries. Any idea what the chances are that bear will stop by to eat the berries? We will be getting a dog, maybe two - will that help keep bear out of our space? How about my DH peeing outside in the woods all the time? Heck I'll start peeing out there too if it'll help - I sure don't want to come face to face with a bear.... How do I encourage them to look elsewhere for food...

We are in south western maine....away from the coast, with about 3000+ acres of woods behind our property... with few homes...

Thanks in advance to anyone with thoughts about this!!

That's me, looking out for bears....

[DaleK]

Ask your new neighbours what the Bears are like. You may never see one or they may be a problem, but even problem bears can be lived with. Stay away from their cubs, keep the garbage and other food away so it doesn't tempt them and they'll probably never bother you.

[HuskyBoris]

I have at least 8 different black bears judging by sizes and shapes that live right directly behind my house.
I have never seen them other than on game cameras except for one in 2006,,mine are pretty reclusive I imagine yours are as well

[wdcutrsdaughter]

great positive news- but what about the berries - won't that draw them in ?

good advice to check w the neighbors - will do...

[HuskyBoris]

Originally Posted by wdcutrsdaughter

great positive news- but what about the berries - won't that draw them in ?

good advice to check w the neighbors - will do...

I have grapes,blackberries and strawberries in the yard,,still haven't seen any other than the one in 2006 and I was in his domain hunting but I would still check with your neighbors,their knowledge of your particular area trumps a yahoo from the internet

[Cygnet]

I pick wild raspberries in an area that has a fairly large bear population. There is a ton of bear sign and the bears definitely do eat the berries. I've NEVER seen a bear when I'm out there. Not once. Black bears are very afraid of people, and they will run, unless they've been fed. I do carry a sidearm just in case (there's always that ONE cranky sow with cubs) and I make noise, but I've never even remotely felt threatened. In fact, the only bear I've ever seen was being chased by dogs and I saw it from the road.

As far as bears being drawn into YOUR berry patch ... it depends on the bears. Ask the neighbors. We don't have (many) berries in our yard, but we do have a prolific apple tree and a vegetable garden and chickens and goats. No problems with bears. Even fresh tracks in the area are rare. They really don't like people.

If the bears are hunted with dogs, they'll likely be afraid of dogs. Otherwise ... it probably depends on the bear.

[Nimrod]

There are bears in the state land adjacent to my place. The only time one has come close is in the spring when they wake up hungry and there isn't much to eat. That should be happening soon. Don't leave garbage out and hang the bird feeders up high.

By the time the berries ripen there should be plenty of stuff to eat, including berries in the woods. I doubt the bears will bother yours.

[moonwolf]

Good possibility....
Being adjacent to large wild forested lands,
I've had black bear visitors nearly ever spring and fall.
One fall big bruin took to sitting up in the crabapple tree
gorging. Once he got his fill (and broke big branches on the
Fruit tree) he took off. Spring once a bear destroyed two active
Bee hives I had At the time. They've foraged under the pear trees
Eating up the grounders and had them robbing plums and leaving
Huge piles of plum seed laden dung....so, yes....expect company
On your stead from yogi's buddies at one time or another.....just
sort of comes with the territory.

[fireweed farm]

I highly recommend putting up 2-3 strands of hot wires around your fruit, hens and bees. Once the bears start, you've ruined the animals for yourself and neighbors.
Bears are hard to retrain, so best to keep them out in the first place. We have more bears than most places here.

[Old Vet]

I have a lot of bears in our area. they used to come and raid the garden and plum trees but have stopped. I guess my 6 dogs had a hand in that.

[wdcutrsdaughter]

Thanks for your thoughts everyone

I like the suggestion of an electric fence.

There is a bird feeder in the yard, next time I am there I will take it down. I thought it was strange that someone would feed the birds near their berry bushes anyway.

[Alaska]

A good dog can make all the difference. I have lived in some of the most densely bear populated areas on the planet. Always had a dog just for that purpose. It made it a lot easier to sleep at night.
A lot depends on the people in the area. A lot of places think it is cute to see black bears In the yard. And unfortunately a lot of people are careless with their garbage.
The berries may attract them if the wild crop is bad.

[where I want to]

I agree about having a veggie only compost pile and a secured garbage can. We have oodles of black bear here and the only time they made a nuisance of themselves is with ripe apple trees. Their weight can break a good sized tree down. That and when a neighbor dumped food like meat and pizza in his compost pile.
I have heard of them taking a goat but never met anyone who actually had it happen. Most bear sightings out side of parks are the butts disappearing into the woods.

[kasilofhome]

Yep I know lots of former goat people who have lost all or most of their herds. Very very common.

I am lucky to have maybe 150to200 dogs near me as I am surrounded by mushers close enough to know when each lot of dogs get feed. Dean osmers, trains his dogs just bordering me.

Loud dogs help a lot.

I did have a brown sow in my blind spot 10....15 feet from me reach out to me but I was with a person with a gun and they saw and shot....wish it did not happened.

I only saw a blur, a grunt of what I thought was a pig, a shot, and a squeal....it was fast....Note I was canning eight y pounds of sugar syrup cherries.....carefully when canning.

[RomeGrower]

When we lived in Maine we had bear, coyotes, fishers, foxes, lynx, moose, deer (possibly wolf and mountain lion though the State would not admit it) so we always had our dog out with the kids and we told them to be LOUD and make a lot of noise so they wouldn't surprise anything.

One time my oldest son was in the woods near the tree house we were working on and Toby (dog) was with him. They walked around some trees to come toward our house and met a bull moose. Toby chased it way up the hill. The moose left a big gouge in the ground. It was a surprise to all 3 of them and has been a favorite story for our family.

[dfr1973]

When we moved here 2 years ago, pretty much all of our neighbors warned us about the problem bear. Prior to us moving in, she had taken a couple of hogs from the next-door neighbors. She had also been up on their porch in the daytime. We didn't see her until last October ... when she walked up onto our porch. Then in December she hit both us and our next-door neighbors again: we lost 10 chicks, the next night the neighbor lost one despite all precautions. The black bears are protected by state law here in Florida. It is illegal to even wound one, much less kill one. The state believes if you have livestock, then it is your fault for attracting the bears.

Definitely ask your neighbors. They will know if you have a problem bear in the area. If you do have one, investigate your state laws. Either way, I personally recommend a black powder (cap and ball?) firearm ... ours is louder than the shotgun and makes quite the flash and smell when fired.

[blufford]

Lots of good advise here. I would also add that you should be careful not to leave any picnic baskets sitting around.